This invention relates to the construction of garments for ladies wearing apparel and to the creation of a garment which can be adjusted in the wearing to provide many, various pleasing external appearances. A single such garment is capable of being adjusted in its wearing so as to appear to be at various times many different garments; the garment is of particular utility in the entertainment and theatrical arts as it permits a few ladies costumes of the described design to be used to produce many different effects. It is equally useful to provide a wardrobe having variable style and appearance, without requiring an extensive personal wardrobe.
The prior art has generally tended to attempt to create multiple styles by providing a plain lower section of the garment and by dividing the upper section so that it may be tied in various positions to produce varying effects. Thus U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,253 to Roscoe discloses a sheath dress having crossed upper triangular tie sections which can be tied by the wearer in various positions to present various appearances. A similar effect may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,078 to Tepper showing a two piece body garment in which independent garment pieces are wrapped around the body and then fastened to produce an appearance effect.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,062 to Basaldua shows a second form of garment having an essentially tubular or sheath lower portion construction and individual upwardly extending scarf pieces which are prismatic rather than triangular in shape; in use the scarf pieces are wrapped in various forms about the upper body and tied to provide the multiple style effect.
The use of overlying panels of expandable material has also been used to provide articles which may be worn by individuals having varying body sizes. Typical is U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,046 to Zebel showing a plural size fitted article using materials of two different expansion characteristics which are overlapped so as to be moveable with respect to each other, providing a one size fits all effect.